This is a leap into the unknown for me. I'll see what the future brings, but hopefully, it will bring some readers to 'my neck of the woods'.
What can you expect?
Just about anything.
I'll be posting some of my 18+ Dutch stories, as well as more "general public" English stories, 24 fanfiction and other.
If you like, please leave me a comment and feel free to invite your friends.
The more, the merrier.
Right???
Welcome to Moody's World of Fiction!

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Apr 23, 2013

Sun, sea and salty tears - all audiences

Heya guys and gals.

Here's the second of my "just for fun" and completely "out of time" stories based on the Writer's Weekly 24-hour contest prompt, kindly provided by Susie.I am wishing I had known about this contest sooner, because these prompts are absolutely awesome.Remember, the story doesn't have to copy/use/mention the entire prompt, it just has to be obvious the story was written based on that prompt.I hope you'll enjoy the read.

TODAY'S
TOPIC!

With
blistered, salty skin and matted hair, they were down to their last sips of
fresh water. A recreational day at sea had turned into a fight for continued
existence. Slumped on the bow, searching for any hint of a breeze to sooth her burning
face, her eyes widened when she noticed something fast approaching in the
distance...

WORD COUNT:
Stories for today's topic must not exceed 875

words.
(Your story's title is *not* included in the word

count.)

Sun, sea and
salty tears.

A lovely
day announced itself on a warm breeze and the soft rustle of spring leaves. The
smell of summer was in the air and she opened the bay window to let it into her
house and into her soul. Finally winter had left. Finally summer was on the
way. Today had been announced to be the warmest day of the week and she got an
early start. Preparing sandwiches and a few bottles of water, she hummed along
with the tune playing on the radio. She couldn’t remember the name of the band,
but it was a catchy tune and she really liked it.

Twenty minutes
later, a rebellious hairdo walked into the kitchen, the young teenager below it
much less awake than she had been when she opened her eyes.

“Hey,
brighten up, summer is coming.” she said cheerfully, hoping to coax him out of
the lingering sleep.

With a
sigh, he dropped onto the kitchen stool and poured some cereal into the bowl
his mother had prepared. Moments later, he was munching on the crunchy hoops,
trying to come up with an excuse not
to go on that boating trip. It would have to be a good one, his mom wouldn’t
let him get off the hook with a lame excuse.

Problem was,
he didn’t have one. And he was too
tired to come up with one. With another sigh, he got up and put his empty bowl
in the sink. Leaning over, he gave his mother a wet kiss on the cheek.

“Morning,
mom.”

It put a
smile on her face and she ruffled through his rebellious hair.

“You need a
haircut.”

“I know.” he
replied, running his right hand through it as well.

Ten minutes
later, he was ready, a bag with his swimming trunk, diving gear and a
small towel thrown over his shoulder.

“Are you
ready?” he asked.

She gave
him another smile, picked up the cooling box and waved her hand towards the
front door.

It meant
she was.

~~~

How long
had it been?

She couldn’t
remember.

The sun was
ablaze high above their heads, the skies a stark blue, cloudless stretch. There
wasn’t a hint of a breeze to soothe her burned face.

They were
down to their last sips of fresh water. Thankfully, her brother still had some
clarity of mind and they were keeping the bottles on a rope under the boat. It was
the only way to keep it something resembling cool. She couldn’t think straight.
Not after what had happened this morning.

Desperate to
find help, Adam had taken it upon himself to swim to shore. She hadn’t been
awake yet and her brother hadn’t been able to summon the strength to stop him.

She was
devastated, desperate for a sign and mad as hell at both her brother and her
son.

Why did the
men in her family have to be so damned stubborn?

It was that
same stubbornness that had gotten them in this predicament.

It had
started out so well. A quiet day with her brother and her son, the 2 men who
meant most to her, much more than her estranged husband. It was supposed to be
a relaxing day. It had been, until disaster had struck and their engine had
failed. For hours, her brother had tried to get it to work again. Hours during
which they had drifted, further and further away.

Now, they
were close to exhaustion with no hope of a rescue.

Her thoughts
were of Adam. Of the horrors of drowning, exhausted after long hours of
fighting against the same currents that had carried them out to sea.

A single
tear formed in her eye, she had no more moisture left.

She couldn’t
cry any more than this over her loss
and she had no tears left to cry over her own misfortune.

Squinting against
the glare of the sun, she strained to focus her vision.

Something was
at the horizon and it appeared to be coming in their direction.

Fast.

Her eyes
widened in surprise as it drew nearer.

It took
only minutes to arrive, the waves causing their boat to dance on the water.

“You look
like you could use some help.”

The booming
voice was warm and comforting.

“Yes,” she
croaked, “our engine died.”

“Here.” he handed
her a bottle, “Drink.”

The milky
white liquid soothed her throat and gave her instant energy. Enough to find her
brother and give him some as well.

Meanwhile,
a rope was attached to their bow and she felt the sudden shock as the boat
started to move, towed by the other vessel.

“My son.” she
said, a quiver in her voice.

“Is safe.”

The sigh of
relief made her weary body shudder.

“Thank you.”
she said in a half whisper, “Thank you so much, Neptune, for saving my family.”